Canada releases its long-term low emissions development strategy

According to the Paris Agreement’s article 4.19: “All Parties should strive to formulate and communicate long-term low greenhouse gas emissions development strategies […] taking into account their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances.”

On November 19th at COP 22 in Marrakesh, along with the US and Mexico, Canada released the first version of its Mid-Century Long-Term Low-Greenhouse Gas Development Strategy. The Canadian DDPP figured prominently in this document.

On December 9th Canada released the Pan Canadian Climate Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, the first official federal, provincial, territorial and indigenous plan to address climate change mitigation, adaptation, technological innovation, and planning, focussed on nearer term targets and political coordination up to 2030. The Framework includes: mandatory provincial carbon pricing with a federal backstop (starting at $10/t in 2018 and rising to $50 by 2022); complementary actions (including amongst other things a net zero ready building code by 2030 and a plan for transport codes of equivalent ambition); adaptation; clean technology, innovation and jobs; a pathway to the 2030 target; and reporting and oversight.

This last point – reporting and oversight – is probably one of the most important components, because it anticipates the establishment of the apolitical, arms-length reporting, stocktaking, and oversight institutions that will be necessary to guide Canada along its low emission development pathway to its low carbon development goals.

Except for adaption, these measures were all anticipated and argued for in one form or another in the Canadian DDPP. This concrete outcome was reached thanks to an intensive outreach strategy of the DDPP conclusions, involving presentations in official and non-official conferences and briefings, and the publication of detailed policy studies based on the DDPP results. This overall strategy at the local scale is described more in-depth in the IDDRI Issue Brief “The impact of the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project on domestic decision-making processes – Lessons from three countries” .